1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a slicing apparatus and, more particularly, to a bagel and English muffin slicing apparatus for slicing an existing bread product.
2. Prior Art
The conventional slicing procedure for a bagel requires the user to place the bagel on its circumferential edge in an upright manner and be held by the hand of the user. The user then directs a knife blade longitudinally through the bagel attempting to divide the bagel into two relatively equal halves. This type of cutting procedure is difficult for many people and has resulted in a large number of hand cuts. Additionally, some people prefer to cut the bagel into three pieces as opposed to two which produces narrower separate pieces which not only facilitate the toasting procedure but also produces a more toasted end food product. The dividing of a bagel into thirds by this hand technique causes the user to be even more prone to injury. There is a need to incorporate a simplified and safe form of holder device in conjunction with a conventional toaster that can be used by the user to slice a bagel or muffin into a plurality of separate pieces with the slicing procedure to be accomplished in a safe manner. In addition, these bagel cutters rarely operate in a manner that allows a user to cut a smaller English muffin. Based on the above mentioned needs, it would be advantageous to provide a user a means to cut smaller English muffins with the bagel cutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,989 to Baillie discloses a fixture having a channel for accepting a user inserted knife blade, a first, floating plate for holding in place one surface of the bagel, roll or muffin to be sliced, and a second, rigid plate for bearing against the opposite surface of the bagel, roll or muffin, and positionally adjustable with respect to the channel for controlling the thickness of the resulting sliced sections. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a method for augmenting a standard bagel cutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,608 to DeMars discloses a food cutting holder mounted in conjunction with a toaster for toasting bagels, muffins, bread slices and other similar types of foodstuff. The food cutting holder is to be confinable within the housing of the toaster when in the storage position and removable from the housing when it is intended to be used. The food cutting holder confiningly locates the food item in a precise position facilitating division of the food item into a plurality of separate pieces. It is intended that these separate pieces are then to be toasted within the toaster. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a method for augmenting a standard bagel cutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,529 to Hodsdon discloses an invention that is a safe, effective, attractive apparatus for slicing bread products such as bagels, bulkie rolls, and English muffins into two approximately equal sections. The invention is comprised of two primary components. The base unit is essentially a rectangular block with a narrow slot on either side of a cavity that is open at the top and shaped to receive and center a bread product. The second component is a unique separate top block that has an inverted slot on the underside to receive a knife so that it is recessed from the underside of the top block. A knife is placed into the slot of the top block, and together they are placed into the chamber of the base unit, with the knife now guided by the slots on either side of the base unit. The top block is used to hold down the bread product to keep it from rotating, while keeping fingers safely away from the knife blade. The user draws the knife back and forth, and is able to cut easily through the bread product. Unfortunately, this prior art example requires a user to operate a knife in order to achieve the desired result.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The manually operable culinary apparatus is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for slicing an existing bread product. The apparatus is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.